A Mainstreet Research poll found that 54% of adult Canadians cannot name a single Canadian visual artist, living or dead. In contrast, the poll also found that 97% of adult Canadians can name at least three Canadian hockey players. Are we really so divorced from art a majority of us can't name Emily Carr, Tom Thomson, Jean-Paul Riopelle or Norval Morrisseau?

Unfortunately there are officially no Canadian NHL teams in the playoffs this season. But that doesn't mean children across Canada didn't have a great time playing our national sport. And hey, there's always next year. Here are six things I learned from being a hockey mom.

There are many stereotypes about Canadians, some true and some not. Do we love hockey? Yes. Do we eat doughnuts? Yes, at the hockey arena. But we do have major cities (some really, really big ones, in fact). And we don't say "aboot," at least, I can't hear it.